Using communication characteristics of a station to verify identity information

ABSTRACT

Various aspects provide for receiving identity information from a station (STA) that identifies the STA as a sensor-type STA, determining whether communication attributes of the STA correlates with communication attributes expected for a sensor-type STA, and determining that the identity information received from the STA is false when the one or more communication attributes of the STA is uncorrelated with the one or more communication attributes expected for a sensor-type STA. Additional aspects provide for initiating one or more remedial actions upon determining that the identity information is false. The communication attributes may pertain to packet size, inter-arrival time, and/or inter-arrival time variance. The remedial actions may include blocking a future communication with the STA, communicating a warning message to the STA, and/or assigning the STA to a particular access window. Communications by the STA may comply with aspects of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11ah.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure relate, generally, to wirelesscommunication systems and, more particularly, to using communicationcharacteristics of a station to verify identity information.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide variouscommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,broadcasts, and so on. Such networks, which are usually multiple accessnetworks, support communications for multiple users by sharing theavailable network resources. Within such wireless networks a variety ofdata services may be provided, including voice, video, and emails. Somenetworks provide particular time periods for accessing the wirelessmedium by specific types of devices. If a device misrepresents itsdevice type to the network, that device may wrongfully gain privilegesto those particular time periods, thereby consuming valuable networkresources that could otherwise be used by other devices. Enhancementsthat relate to such aspects may benefit the wireless communicationnetwork and enhance the overall user experience.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects ofthe present disclosure, in order to provide a basic understanding ofsuch aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of allcontemplated features of the disclosure, and is intended neither toidentify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure norto delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its solepurpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of thedisclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for wirelesscommunication. The apparatus includes a transceiver, a memory, and atleast one processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and thememory. In some examples, the at least one processor and the memory maybe configured to receive identity information from a station (STA),wherein the identity information identifies the STA as a sensor-typeSTA. The at least one processor and the memory may be further configuredto determine whether one or more communication attributes of the STAcorrelates with one or more communication attributes expected for asensor-type STA. The at least one processor and the memory may befurther configured to determine that the identity information receivedfrom the STA is false when the one or more communication attributes ofthe STA is uncorrelated with the one or more communication attributesexpected for a sensor-type STA.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for wirelesscommunication. In some examples, the method may include receivingidentity information from an STA, wherein the identity informationidentifies the STA as a sensor-type STA. The method may also includedetermining whether one or more communication attributes of the STAcorrelates with one or more communication attributes expected for asensor-type STA. The method may also include determining that theidentity information received from the STA is false when the one or morecommunication attributes of the STA is uncorrelated with the one or morecommunication attributes expected for a sensor-type STA.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides acomputer-readable medium storing computer-executable code. In someexamples, the computer-executable code may include instructionsconfigured to receive identity information from an STA, wherein theidentity information identifies the STA as a sensor-type STA. Theinstructions may be further configured to determine whether one or morecommunication attributes of the STA correlates with one or morecommunication attributes expected for a sensor-type STA. Theinstructions may be further configured to determine that the identityinformation received from the STA is false when the one or morecommunication attributes of the STA is uncorrelated with the one or morecommunication attributes expected for a sensor-type STA.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the present disclosureprovides an apparatus for wireless communication. In some examples, theapparatus may include means for receiving identity information from anSTA, wherein the identity information identifies the STA as asensor-type STA. The apparatus may also include means for determiningwhether one or more communication attributes of the STA correlates withone or more communication attributes expected for a sensor-type STA. Theapparatus may also include means for determining that the identityinformation received from the STA is false when the one or morecommunication attributes of the STA is uncorrelated with the one or morecommunication attributes expected for a sensor-type STA.

These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become more fullyunderstood upon a review of the detailed description, which follows.Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present disclosure willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Whilefeatures of the present disclosure may be discussed relative to certainembodiments and figures below, all embodiments of the present disclosurecan include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein.In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as havingcertain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also beused in accordance with the various embodiments of the disclosurediscussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary embodiments may bediscussed below as device, system, or method embodiments it should beunderstood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of various apparatuses in acommunication network according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of various protocol layersof a wireless communication network according to aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of channelization accordingto aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of random access windows(RAWs) according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication attributesby various stations (STAs) according to aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an access point (AP)according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another example of an AP according toaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating yet another example of an AP accordingto aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of various methods and/orprocesses according to aspects of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF SOME EXAMPLES

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, certain structures and components are shownin block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

FIG. 1 is a diagram 100 illustrating an example of various apparatusesin a communication network according to aspects of the presentdisclosure. In this example, the communication network includes variousapparatuses, such as an access point (AP) 102 and various stations(STAs). Generally, the AP 102 is configured to communicate withdownstream apparatuses (e.g., STAs). One of ordinary skill in the artwill understand that the AP 102 may be referred to as a base station, abase transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, anode, a relay, a transmitter, a scheduler, a scheduling entity, a meshnode, a peer, and/or any other suitable terminology without deviatingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. Generally, the STAs are eachconfigured to communicate with upstream apparatuses (e.g., AP 102) andpossibly with other downstream apparatuses (not shown).

One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the examplesdescribed herein with reference to the AP 102 are not intended tonecessarily limit the scope of the present disclosure. Any aspectdescribed herein with reference to the AP 102 may be implemented and/orapplied with respect to any non-AP apparatus without deviating from thescope of the present disclosure. In other words, any aspect describedherein with respect to AP 102 may be implemented and/or applied withrespect to a peer-to-peer device, an ad-hoc device, anInternet-of-things device, an Internet-of-everything device, a relay, asensor device, a non-sensor device, and various other suitable apparatuswithout deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly,any aspect described herein may be applied to non-AP and/ornon-infrastructure-type networks, such as ad-hoc networks, peer-to-peernetworks, and various other suitable networks, without deviating fromthe scope of the present disclosure.

One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that any of theapparatuses (e.g., STAs) downstream of the AP 102 may be referred to asa user equipment (UE), a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone,a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriberunit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wirelessdevice, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobilesubscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wirelessterminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, amobile client, a client, a mesh node, a peer, a session initiationprotocol phone, a laptop, a notebook, a netbook, a smartbook, a personaldigital assistant, a satellite radio, a global positioning systemdevice, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player, acamera, a game console, an entertainment device, a vehicle component, awearable computing device (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, a health orfitness tracker, etc.), an appliance, a sensor, a vending machine,and/or any other suitable terminology without deviating from the scopeof the present disclosure.

The concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implementedacross a broad variety of wireless communication systems, networkarchitectures, and communication standards. The apparatuses in thecommunication network may utilize at least some algorithms and/orprotocols corresponding to a standard promulgated by Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), such as IEEE 802.11. TheIEEE is a standards body that defines several wireless communicationstandards for networks involving an upstream apparatus (e.g., AP 102)and a downstream apparatus (e.g., STA(s)). Although some examplesprovided herein may be described with reference to a particularcommunication standard, one of ordinary skill in the art will understandthat aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in variouswireless communication systems that may or may not conform to anycommunication standard, whether or not promulgated by the IEEE, withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

One non-limiting example of such a communication standard is IEEE802.11ah. IEEE 802.11ah characterizes some STAs as sensor STAs and someother STAs as non-sensor STAs. Accordingly, in some examples, a‘sensor-type STA’ refers to a ‘sensor STA’ as defined in IEEE 802.11ah,and a ‘non-sensor-type STA’ refers a ‘non-sensor STA’ as defined in IEEE802.11ah. Generally, a non-sensor-type STA refers to any STA that is nota sensor-type STA. Nevertheless, one of ordinary skill in the art willalso understand that a sensor-type STA and a non-sensor-type STA mayhave alternative and/or more expansive definitions relative to thoseprovided in IEEE 802.11ah without deviating from the scope of thepresent disclosure. In some examples, a sensor-type STA may have apacket size limitation that is smaller than a packet size limitation ofa non-sensor-type STA. In some examples, a sensor-type STA may have aninter-arrival time requirement that is different from an inter-arrivaltime requirement of a non-sensor-type STA. In some examples, asensor-type STA may have an inter-arrival time variance that is lessthan an inter-arrival time variance of a non-sensor-type STA. In someexamples, a sensor-type STA may have a traffic volume limitation that isless than a traffic volume limitation of a non-sensor-type STA. In someexamples, a sensor-type STA may have a transmit power limitation that isless than a transmit power limitation of a non-sensor-type STA. In someexamples, a sensor-type STA may have a battery power requirement that isdifferent from a battery power requirement of a non-sensor-type STA.

One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the communicationnetwork may include fewer or additional apparatuses relative to theapparatuses illustrated in FIG. 1 without deviating from the scope ofthe present disclosure. One of ordinary skill in the art will understandthat the example illustrated in FIG. 1 is provided for illustrativepurposes and is not intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure. Non-limiting examples of sensor-type STAs illustrated inFIG. 1 include a thermostat 111, a stove 112, an irrigation controller113, a washer and dryer 114, an electric vehicle charging station 115, awater heater 116, and a utility meter 117. Non-limiting examples ofnon-sensor-type STAs illustrated in FIG. 1 include a mobile phone 121, alaptop computer 122, a network/server computer 123, a printer 124, aperipheral/external display device 125, headphones 126, a camera 127,and a router/hub 128.

FIG. 2 is a diagram 200 illustrating an example of various protocollayers of a wireless communication network according to aspects of thepresent disclosure. The protocol layers illustrated in FIG. 2 may beutilized by various apparatuses without deviating from the scope of thepresent disclosure. In some, Apparatus₁ may be the AP 102 describedabove with reference to FIG. 1. In some examples, Apparatus₂ may be anyone or more the STAs described above with reference to FIG. 1. Theprotocol layers illustrated in FIG. 2 shall not be construed as alimitation of the present disclosure. One of ordinary skill in the artwill understand that fewer, additional, and/or alternative protocollayers may be implemented without deviating from the scope of thepresent disclosure. For instance, various protocol layers notillustrated in FIG. 2 may exist between any of the layers illustrated inFIG. 2 without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Oneof ordinary skill in the art will also understand that such protocollayers may be utilized in various configurations, even if notillustrated in FIG. 2, without deviating from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In some configurations, as illustrated in FIG. 2, theprotocol layers may include transport and network layers 204, 214,logical link control (LLC) layers 206, 216, medium access control (MAC)layers 208, 218, physical (PHY) layers 210, 220, and/or various otherlayers 202, 212. In some examples, such other layers 202, 212 mayinclude an application layer, a protocol access layer (PAL), and/orvarious other suitable layers.

The transport and network layers 204, 214 may facilitate the flow of thedata traffic to one or more devices via Internet protocol (IP) links.For example, Apparatus₁ and Apparatus₂ may be separated by an IPnetwork. Apparatus₁ and Apparatus₂ may be direct clients of atransmission control protocol (TCP). The data traffic may be packagedinto IP datagrams and delivered through TCP connections. However, thetransport and network layers 204, 214 may not exist in allconfigurations of the present disclosure, such as when the data trafficis not being transmitted from the host to the device via IP links. Thetransport and network layers 204, 214 may also perform other functionsand/or include other features not described herein without deviatingfrom the scope of the present disclosure.

The LLC layers 206, 216 may be the upper sublayer of a data link layer.The LLC layers 206, 216 may provide multiplexing mechanisms to enablevarious network protocols to coexist within a multipoint network and tobe transported over the same network medium. The LLC layers 206, 216 mayalso control data flows as well as provide error management. The LLClayers 206, 216 may also perform other functions and/or include otherfeatures not described herein without deviating from the scope of thepresent disclosure. The LLC layers 206, 216 interface between thenetwork layers (e.g., transport and network layers 204, 214) and the MAClayers (e.g., MAC layers 208, 218).

The MAC layers 208, 218 may be the lower sublayer of the data linklayer. The MAC layers 208, 218 may provide addressing and channel accesscontrol mechanisms that enable various terminals or network nodes tocommunicate within a multiple-access network having a shared medium(e.g., a wireless medium according to IEEE 802.11). The MAC layers 208,218 may emulate a full-duplex logical communication channel in amulti-point network, and such a channel may provide unicast, multicast,and/or broadcast communication service(s). The MAC layers 208, 218 mayalso perform other functions and/or include other features not describedherein without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. TheMAC layers 208, 218 may interface between the LLC layers 206, 216 andthe network PHY layers 210, 220.

The PHY layers 210, 220 may include network hardware transmissiontechnologies. The PHY layers 210, 220 may provide the means fortransmitting data traffic. The PHY layers 210, 220 may provide anelectrical, mechanical, and/or procedural interface to the wirelessmedium 222. The PHY layers 210, 220 may specify various attributes ofthe data traffic, such as the frequency on which the data traffic istransmitted, the modulating scheme of the data traffic, and otherrelated attributes of the data traffic. The PHY layers 210, 220 may alsoperform other functions and/or include other features not describedherein without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. ThePHY layers 210, 220 may transmit the data traffic to another apparatusvia the wireless medium 222. The wireless medium 222 may be utilized inaccordance with IEEE 802.11. The wireless medium 222 may also beutilized in accordance with various other communication standards. Thewireless medium 222 may interface between the PHY layer 210 ofApparatus₁ and the PHY layer 220 of Apparatus₂.

FIG. 3 is a diagram 300 illustrating an example of channelizationaccording to aspects of the present disclosure. The available sub-1 GHz(S1G) frequency bands may be different depending on the country.Accordingly, IEEE 802.11ah has defined channelization based on theavailable wireless spectra in various countries, including the UnitedStates, South Korea, China, Europe, Japan, and Singapore. Generally,FIG. 3 illustrates the IEEE 802.11ah channelization in these countries.In the United States, the S1G frequency band is 26 MHz, positionedbetween 902 MHz and 928 MHz. Accordingly, the number of available 1 MHzchannels is 26. In order to achieve a higher bandwidth, several adjacentchannels can be bonded together to yield a wider channel. For instance,a 2 MHz channel may be composed of two adjacent 1 MHz channels. Thewidest channel supported in the US is 16 MHz channel, which is also thewidest channel bandwidth supported in IEEE 802.11ah.

The IEEE 802.11ah-compliant channels outside of the United States may bedifferent than those inside of the United States. In South Korea, suchchannels begin from 917.5 MHz and end at 923.5 MHz, which provides a 6MHz bandwidth. In Europe, such channels begin from 863 MHz and end at868 MHz, which provides a 5 MHz bandwidth. In China, such channels beginfrom 755 MHz and end at 787 MHz, which provides a 32 MHz bandwidth. InJapan, such channels begin at 916.5 MHz and end at 927.5 MHz, whichprovides an 11 MHz bandwidth. In Singapore, some channels begin at 866MHz and end at 869 MHz, providing a 3 MHz bandwidth, and some otherchannels begin at 920 MHz and end at 925 MHz, providing a 5 MHzbandwidth.

One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the examplefrequencies provided with reference to FIG. 3 are for illustrativepurposes and therefore shall not be construed as a limitation of thepresent disclosure. Any aspect described herein may be implementedand/or applied with respect to various frequencies (e.g., even if notdescribed with reference to FIG. 3) without deviating from the scope ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of random access windows(RAWs) according to aspects of the present disclosure. Some wirelesscommunication standards (e.g., IEEE 802.11ah) dedicate particularperiods of time for wireless communications by specific types of STAs.Those specific types of STAs may have specific privileges that are notgiven to other types of STAs. During such periods of time, thosespecific types of STAs are allowed to contend for the wireless medium,and the other types of STAs are prohibited from contending for thewireless medium during those periods of time. The other types of STAsare nevertheless allowed to contend for the wireless medium during otherperiods of time. In other words, access to the wireless medium may berestricted during particular periods of time. In some examples, suchperiods of time may be referred to as RAWs. In other words, a RAWrepresents a specific duration of time during which only specific typesof STAs that have the requisite privilege(s) are allowed to contend forthe wireless medium.

For example, referring to the example illustrated in FIG. 4, a firsttime period 402 may be a non-RAW, during which the wireless medium isnot restricted to specific types of STAs having particular privileges. Asecond time period 404 may be a RAW (e.g., RAW₁), during which thewireless medium may be restricted to specific types of STAs havingparticular privileges. A third time period 406 may be a non-RAW, and afourth time period may be a RAW (e.g., RAW₂). As illustrated in FIG. 4,a specific type of STA (e.g., a sensor-type STA (S-STA)) has privilegesto contend for the wireless medium during the RAWs (e.g., RAW₁, RAW₂).For examples, S-STA₁ through S-STA_(n) have privileges to contend forthe wireless medium during RAW₁, and S-STA_(n+1) through S-STA_(n+m)have privileges to contend for the wireless medium during RAW₂. Variousaspects pertaining to a sensor-type STA are provided above withreference to FIG. 1 and therefore will not be repeated.

The privileges described above may be provided by the network based onthe STA type. For example, a sensor-type STA may receive theaforementioned privileges, and a non-sensor-type STA may not receivethose privileges. These privileges may be provided to the sensor-typeSTA to ensure that this type of STA has regular and periodicopportunities to contend for the wireless medium. Without suchprivileges, the sensor-type STA may not have ample opportunity tocontend for the wireless medium if non-sensor-type STAs overwhelm thenetwork with their communications. For example, a non-sensor-type STAmay consume a relatively high amount of network resources whilestreaming video content, which may reduce the likelihood that thesensor-type STA(s) will receive access to the wireless medium.

An AP may determine whether to grant the aforementioned privileges to aparticular STA based on certain identity information provided by thatSTA. For example, a STA may transmit certain identity information to theAP in order to advertise that it is a sensor-type STA. Some existing APsmay grant privileges to such a STA simply based on the identityinformation transmitted to it. In other words, some APs may not performadditional verification to determine the truthfulness or accuracy ofthat identity information advertised by the STA. Accordingly, if a STAmisrepresents (e.g., ‘spoofs’) its identity information, existing APsmay provide such misrepresenting STAs with privileges to which that STAis not truly entitled. For example, a non-sensor-type STA maymisrepresent that it is a sensor-type STA and thereby gain privileges towhich it is not truly entitled. When the misrepresenting non-sensor-typeSTA obtains privileges reserved for sensor-type STAs, thatmisrepresenting non-sensor-type STA can gain access to the RAWs. Inother words, the misrepresenting non-sensor-type STA will be able tocontend for the wireless medium during the RAW(s) that are dedicated forsensor-type STAs. The resources consumed by that misrepresentingnon-sensor-type STA during the RAW(s) are resources that will not beavailable to the sensor-type STAs. Accordingly, there is an increasedlikelihood that sensor-type STAs will be resource-deprived whenmisrepresenting non-sensor-type STA wrongfully gain privileges to theRAWs. Enhancements that relate to such aspects may benefit the wirelesscommunication network.

FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example of communicationattributes by various STAs according to aspects of the presentdisclosure. The AP may receive identity information from a STA, and theidentity information may identify the STA as a sensor-type STA ornon-sensor-type STA. If the identity information identifies the STA as anon-sensor-type STA, then that STA will not receive privileges to theRAW and, therefore, the above-identified concerns regarding amisrepresenting (e.g., ‘spoofing’) STA are moot. In other words, even ifthat STA is truly a sensor-type STA that is misrepresenting itself as anon-sensor-type STA, that STA will nonetheless not receive privileges tothe RAW and, therefore, verification of the truthfulness of its identityinformation may not be warranted. However, if the identity informationidentifies the STA as a sensor-type STA, then the above-identifiedconcerns about a misrepresenting non-sensor-type STA wrongfully gainingprivileges to the RAW are applicable, and verification of thetruthfulness of its identity information may be warranted.

When the AP receives identity information that indicates that the STA isa sensor-type STA, then the AP may determine whether one or morecommunication attributes of the STA correspond to one or morecommunication attributes expected for a typical sensor-type STA todetermine whether the identity information received from the STA isfalse. For example, the AP may determine whether one or morecommunication attributes of the STA correlates with one or morecommunication attributes expected for a typical sensor-type STA todetermine whether the identity information received from the STA isfalse. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that suchcommunication attributes may include various parameters, measurements,signals, and/or information pertaining to the communication behavior ofthe STA without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Thenon-limiting examples of communication attributes described herein areprovided for illustrative purposes and not intended to necessarily limitthe scope of the present disclosure.

In some examples, the communication attributes may refer to the packetsize. For example, the AP may determine whether a size of a packetreceived from the STA (that identified itself as a sensor-type STA)correlates with a size of a packet expected for a typical sensor-typeSTA. Generally, the size of the packet received from a sensor-type STAis smaller than the size of the packet received from a non-sensor-typeSTA. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the duration 502, 506, 510utilized to communicate packets P₁, P₄, P₇ by the sensor-type STA isless than the duration 522, 526, 530, 534 utilized to communicatepackets P₂, P₃, P₅, P₆ by the non-sensor-type STA. Information about thesize of the packet expected for a typical sensor-type STA may be storedand/or retrieved from various sources without deviating from the scopeof the present disclosure, including the examples described below withreference to FIGS. 6-9. By comparing the size of the packet received bythe STA (that identified itself as a sensor-type STA) with a size of apacket expected for a typical sensor-type STA, the AP can determinewhether the identity information received from the STA is false.

In some examples, the communication attributes may refer to theinter-arrival time of the packets. For example, the AP may determinewhether the inter-arrival time of packets received from the STA (thatidentified itself as a sensor-type STA) correlates with theinter-arrival time of packets expected for a typical sensor-type STA. Asused herein, the term ‘inter-arrival time’ refers to the duration oftime between consecutive arrived packets. Generally, the inter-arrivaltime of packets received from a sensor-type STA is greater than theinter-arrival time of packets received from a non-sensor-type STA. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the duration 504, 508 betweenconsecutive arrived packet P₁, P₄, P₇ for the sensor-type STA iscommonly greater than the duration 524, 528, 532 between consecutivearrived packets P₂, P₃, P₅, P₆ for the non-sensor-type STA. Informationabout the inter-arrival time of the packets expected for a typicalsensor-type STA may be stored and/or retrieved from various sourceswithout deviating from the scope of the present disclosure, includingthe examples described below with reference to FIGS. 6-9. By comparingthe inter-arrival time of the packets received by the STA (thatidentified itself as a sensor-type STA) with inter-arrival time ofpackets expected for a typical sensor-type STA, the AP can determinewhether the identity information received from the STA is false.

In some examples, the communication attributes may refer to theinter-arrival time variance of the packets. For example, the AP maydetermine whether the inter-arrival time variance of packets receivedfrom the STA (that identified itself as a sensor-type STA) correlateswith the inter-arrival time variance of packets expected for a typicalsensor-type STA. As used herein, the term ‘inter-arrival time variance’refers to the variance (e.g., difference, discrepancy, inconsistency,variation, etc.) between two (or more) durations of time betweenconsecutive arrived packets. Generally, the inter-arrival time varianceof packets for a sensor-type STA is less than the inter-arrival timevariance of packets received for a non-sensor-type STA. In other words,the communications of a sensor-type STA are more periodic thancommunications of a non-sensor-type STA. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 5, the variance between two (or more) of the durations 504, 508between consecutive arrived packet P₁, P₄, P₇ for the sensor-type STA iscommonly less than the variance between two (or more) of the durations524, 528, 532 between consecutive arrived packets P₂, P₃, P₅, P₆ for thenon-sensor-type STA. Information about the inter-arrival time varianceof the packets expected for a typical sensor-type STA may be storedand/or retrieved from various sources without deviating from the scopeof the present disclosure, including the examples described below withreference to FIGS. 6-9. By comparing the inter-arrival time variance ofthe packets received by the STA (that identified itself as a sensor-typeSTA) with inter-arrival time variance of packets expected for a typicalsensor-type STA, the AP can determine whether the identity informationreceived from the STA is false.

As described in greater detail above, the AP may determine whether theidentity information received from the STA is false by comparing one ormore communication attributes of the STA with one or more communicationattributes expected for a typical sensor-type STA. In manyconfigurations, the AP may determine that the identity information isnot false even though the one or more communication attributes of theSTA (that identified itself as a sensor-type STA) do not perfectly matchthe one or more communication attributes expected for a typicalsensor-type STA. In other words, the AP may sometimes determine that theidentity information is not false even though the one or morecommunication attributes of the STA (that identified itself as asensor-type STA) deviates from the one or more communication attributesexpected for a typical sensor-type STA. So long as the one or morecommunication attributes of the STA (that identified itself as asensor-type STA) are sufficiently correlated with the one or morecommunication attributes expected for a typical sensor-type STA, the APmay determine that the identity information is not false.

However, the AP may determine that the identity information receivedfrom the STA (that identified itself as a sensor-type STA) is false whenthe one or more communication attributes of the STA are insufficientlycorrelated with the one or more communication attributes expected for atypical sensor-type STA. In some configurations, the one or morecommunication attributes of the STA (that identified itself as asensor-type STA) are insufficiently correlated with the one or morecommunication attributes expected for a typical sensor-type STA when theone or more communication attributes of the STA deviate by more than apredetermined amount from the one or more communication attributesexpected for a typical sensor-type STA. That predetermined amount may bea percentage based on a particular value, a fixed quantity or value, aparticular standard deviation relative to a reference value, and/orvarious other metrics without deviating from the scope of the presentdisclosure. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that theexact value may vary between particular designs and implementationswithout deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

If the AP determines that the identity information received from the STA(that identified itself as a sensor-type STA) is false, then the AP mayinitiate one or more remedial actions. Generally, remedial actions mayrefer to any process, procedure, protocol, step, and/or other act torectify, ameliorate, change, fix, clarify, improve, and/or adjust anotherwise non-conforming aspect of the communication system. One ofordinary skill in the art will understand that ‘remedial’ is anon-limiting term of art that is used to generally describe one or moreactions, but the term ‘remedial’ shall be construed broadly and inaccordance with the claimed features. In some examples, the remedialaction may be to block one or more future communications with the STA(that misrepresented itself as a sensor-type STA). For example,referring to FIG. 1, the AP 102 may block future communications with anyone or more of the non-sensor-type STAs 121-128 (that misrepresenteditself as a sensor-type STA). As used herein, the term(s) ‘block’ and/or‘blocking’ may refer to prohibiting, obstructing, hindering, impeding,opposing, stopping, barring, and/or another similar action withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

In some examples, the remedial action may be to communicate a warningmessage to the STA. The warning message may indicate that the identityinformation received from the STA is false. The warning message mayadditionally or alternatively indicate any other information withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure. For example,referring to FIG. 4, the AP may communicate the warning message to anyone or more of the non-sensor-type STAs 121-128 (that misrepresenteditself as a sensor-type STA). As used herein, the term(s) ‘communicate’and/or ‘communicating’ may refer to the utilization of a transceiver (oranother similar component/structure) for a transmission of variouswireless signals containing information that corresponds to the warningmessage.

In some examples, the remedial action may include assigning the STA toan access window that is not restricted to sensor-type STAs. Forexample, referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the AP may assign any one or moreof the non-sensor-type STAs 121-128 (that misrepresented itself as asensor-type STA) to the non-RAWs instead of the RAWs. Accordingly,instead of contending for the wireless medium during the time period(s)404, 408 dedicated to sensor-type STAs, the non-sensor-type STA (thatmisrepresented itself as a sensor-type STA) may contend for the wirelessmedium during the time periods 402, 406 that are not dedicated tosensor-type STAs. As used herein, the term(s) ‘assign’ and/or‘assigning’ may include allocating, allotting, grouping, appointing,designating, earmarking, and/or various similar terms without deviatingfrom the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 illustrating an example of an AP 602 accordingto aspects of the present disclosure. The AP 602 in FIG. 6 may includeany one or more of the aspects described herein with reference to anyother AP without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.Additionally, any other AP described herein may include any one or moreof the aspects described with reference to the AP 602 in FIG. 6.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the MAC/PHY layer(s) 602 mayprovide certain information 604 to the traffic pattern processingcomponent 606. Such information 604 may include traffic information,associated identifier (AID) information, and/or station typeinformation. As used herein, a ‘component’ may refer to one or morecircuits, one or more hardware modules, and/or one or morecomputer-readable/computer-executable instructions stored in a memory(e.g., computer-readable medium) in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure. The traffic pattern processing component 606 may usesuch information 604 to determine one or more communication attributesof the STA, as described in greater detail herein.

After the traffic pattern processing component 606 determines the one ormore communication attributes of the STA, the traffic pattern processingcomponent 606 provides relevant information 608 to the traffic patterncomparator 614. As used herein, the ‘comparator’ may refer to one ormore circuits, one or more hardware modules, and/or one or morecomputer-readable/computer-executable instructions stored in a memory(e.g., computer-readable medium) in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure. Such information 608 may include one or morecommunication attributes of the STA. For example, such information 608may relate to the packet size of communications by the STA,inter-arrival time of communications by the STA, inter-arrival timevariance of communications by the STA, AID associated with the STA, STAtype information, and/or various other suitable types of informationassociated with the STA.

The traffic pattern comparator 614 may also receive information 612 froma traffic pattern database 610. Although the example illustrated in FIG.6 shows the traffic pattern database as being located locally at the AP602, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the trafficpattern database may additionally or alternatively be located remotelywithout deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Theinformation 612 received from the traffic pattern database 610 mayinclude one or more communication attributes expected for a typicalsensor-type STA. For example, such information 612 may relate to thepacket size of communications expected for a typical sensor-type STA,inter-arrival time of communications expected for a typical sensor-typeSTA, inter-arrival time variance of communications expected for atypical sensor-type STA, AID information expected for a typicalsensor-type STA, STA type information expected for a typical sensor-typeSTA, and/or various other suitable types of information expected for atypical sensor-type STA.

The traffic pattern comparator 614 may be configured to determinewhether one or more communication attributes of the STA (e.g., based onthe information 608 provided by the traffic pattern processing component606) correlates with one or more communication attributes expected for atypical sensor-type STA (e.g., based on information 612 received fromthe traffic pattern database 610) to determine whether the identityinformation received from the STA is false. Various aspects pertainingto such determination and/or comparison processes are described ingreater detail herein and therefore will not be repeated. In someconfigurations, the traffic pattern comparator 614 may output certaininformation 616 (e.g., AID information, STA type information, and/orstatus information) back to the MAC/PHY layer(s) 602, as illustrated inFIG. 6. For example, based on the aforementioned determination and/orcomparison processes, the traffic pattern comparator 614 may outputinformation 616 that indicates whether the identity information receivedfrom the STA is false. Although the example illustrated in FIG. 6 showssuch information 616 being provided to the MAC/PHY layer(s) 602, one ofordinary skill in the art will understand that such information 616 mayadditionally or alternatively be provided to various other protocollayers without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating an example of an AP 702 accordingto aspects of the present disclosure. The AP 702 in FIG. 7 may includeany one or more of the aspects described herein with reference to anyother AP without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.Additionally, any other AP described herein may include any one or moreof the aspects described with reference to the AP 702 in FIG. 7.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the MAC/PHY layer(s) 702 mayprovide certain information 704 to the traffic pattern processingcomponent 706. Such information 704 may include traffic information, AIDinformation, and/or station type information to a traffic patternprocessing component. The traffic pattern processing component 706 mayuse such information 704 to determine one or more communicationattributes of the STA, as described in greater detail herein. After thetraffic pattern processing component 706 determines the one or morecommunication attributes of the STA, the traffic pattern processingcomponent 706 provides relevant information 708 to the traffic patterncomparator 714 and/or the classifier/grouping component 710.

Such information 708 may include one or more communication attributes ofthe STA. For example, such information 708 may relate to the packet sizeof communications by the STA, inter-arrival time of communications bythe STA, inter-arrival time variance of communications by the STA, AIDassociated with the STA, STA type information, and/or various othersuitable types of information associated with the STA. Theclassifier/grouping component 710 may use various information (e.g., AIDinformation, group number/identifier, traffic pattern information, etc.)to determine one or more communication attributes expected for aparticular group or classification of sensor-type STAs. The trafficpattern comparator 714 may be configured to determine whether one ormore communication attributes of the STA (e.g., based on the information708 provided by the traffic pattern processing component 706) correlateswith one or more communication attributes expected for a particularclassification or grouping of sensor-type STAs (e.g., based oninformation 712 received from the classifier/grouping component 710) todetermine whether the identity information received from the STA isfalse. Various aspects pertaining to such determination and/orcomparison processes are described in greater detail herein andtherefore will not be repeated.

In some configurations, the traffic pattern comparator 714 may outputcertain information 716 (e.g., AID information, group number/identifier,STA type information, status information, warning information, and/orother suitable types of information) back to the MAC/PHY layer(s) 702,as illustrated in FIG. 7. For example, based on the aforementioneddetermination and/or comparison processes, the traffic patterncomparator 714 may output information 716 that indicates whether theidentity information received from the STA is false. Although theexample illustrated in FIG. 7 shows such information 716 being providedto the MAC/PHY layer(s) 702, one of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that such information 716 may additionally or alternativelybe provided to various other protocol layers without deviating from thescope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a diagram 800 illustrating yet another example of an AP 802according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, thisdiagram 800 illustrates an example of a hardware implementation of an AP802. Generally, the AP 802 may be any device configured for enablingwireless display capabilities. The AP 802 may include a user interface812. The user interface 812 may be configured to receive one or moreinputs from a user of the AP 802. The user interface 812 may also beconfigured to display information (e.g., text and/or images) to the userof the AP 802. The user interface 812 may exchange data via the businterface 808.

The AP 802 may also include a transceiver 810. The transceiver 810 maybe configured to receive data and/or transmit data in communication withanother apparatus. The transceiver 810 provides a means forcommunicating with another apparatus via a wired or wirelesstransmission medium. For example, the transceiver 810 may provide themeans for communicating with the AP 802, as described in greater detailabove. The transceiver 810 may be configured to perform suchcommunications using various types of technologies, as described ingreater detail above. One of ordinary skill in the art will understandthat many types of technologies may perform such communication withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

The AP 802 may also include a memory 814, one or more processors 804, acomputer-readable medium 806, and a bus interface 808. The bus interface808 may provide an interface between a bus 816 and the transceiver 810.The memory 814, the one or more processors 804, the computer-readablemedium 806, and the bus interface 808 may be connected together via thebus 816. The processor 804 may be communicatively coupled to thetransceiver 810 and/or the memory 814.

The processor 804 may include a reception circuit 820. The receptioncircuit 820 may include various hardware components and/or may performvarious algorithms that provide the means, e.g., in coordination withthe transceiver 810, for receiving identity information from a STA,wherein the identity information identifies the STA as a sensor-typeSTA. The processor 804 may also include a comparison circuit 821. Thecomparison circuit 821 may include various hardware components and/ormay perform various algorithms that provide the means for determiningwhether one or more communication attributes of the STA correlates withone or more communication attributes expected for a sensor-type STA. Thecomparison circuit 821 may include various hardware components and/ormay perform various algorithms that provide the means for determiningthat the identity information received from the STA is false when theone or more communication attributes of the STA is uncorrelated with theone or more communication attributes expected for a sensor-type STA. Insome configurations, the processor 804 may also include a remedialcircuit 822. The remedial circuit 822 may include various hardwarecomponents and/or may perform various algorithms that provide the meansfor initiating one or more remedial actions upon determining that theidentity information received from the STA is false. In someconfigurations, the processor 804 may also include a grouping circuit823. The grouping circuit 823 may include various hardware componentsand/or may perform various algorithms that provide the means forassigning a plurality of sensor-type STAs to a RAW based on one or morecommunication attributes of the plurality of sensor-type STAs.

The foregoing description provides a non-limiting example of theprocessor 804 of the AP 802. Although various circuits have beendescribed above, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand thatthe processor 804 may also include various other circuits (not shown)that are in addition and/or alternative(s) to circuits 820, 821, 822,823. Such other circuits (not shown) may provide the means forperforming any one or more of the functions, methods, processes,features and/or aspects described herein.

The computer-readable medium 806 may include various computer-executableinstructions. The computer-executable instructions may includecomputer-executable code configured to perform various functions and/orenable various aspects described herein. The computer-executableinstructions may be executed by various hardware components (e.g., theprocessor 804 and/or any of its circuits 820, 821, 822, 823) of the AP802. The computer-executable instructions may be a part of varioussoftware programs and/or software modules.

The computer-readable medium 806 may include reception instructions 840.The reception instructions 840 may include computer-executableinstructions configured for receiving identity information from a STA,wherein the identity information identifies the STA as a sensor-typeSTA. The computer-readable medium 806 may also include comparisoninstructions 841. The comparison instructions 841 may includecomputer-executable instructions configured to determine whether one ormore communication attributes of the STA correlates with one or morecommunication attributes expected for a sensor-type STA. The comparisoninstructions 841 may include computer-executable instructions configuredto determine that the identity information received from the STA isfalse when the one or more communication attributes of the STA isuncorrelated with the one or more communication attributes expected fora sensor-type STA. In some configurations, the computer-readable medium806 may include remedial instructions 842. The remedial instructions 842may include computer-executable instructions configured to initiate oneor more remedial actions upon determining that the identity informationreceived from the STA is false. In some configurations, thecomputer-readable medium 806 may include grouping instructions 843. Thegrouping instructions 843 may include computer-executable instructionsconfigured to assign a plurality of sensor-type STAs to a RAW based onone or more communication attributes of the plurality of sensor-typeSTAs.

The foregoing description provides a non-limiting example of thecomputer-readable medium 806 of the AP 802. Although variouscomputer-executable instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) havebeen described above, one of ordinary skill in the art will understandthat the computer-readable medium 806 may also include various othercomputer-executable instructions (not shown) that are in addition and/oralternative(s) to instructions 840, 841, 842, 843. Such othercomputer-executable instructions (not shown) may be configured forperforming any one or more of the functions, methods, processes,features and/or aspects described herein.

The memory 814 may include various memory modules. The memory modulesmay be configured to store, and have read therefrom, various valuesand/or information by the processor 804, or any of its circuits 820,821, 822, 823. The memory modules may also be configured to store, andhave read therefrom, various values and/or information upon execution ofthe computer-executable code included in the computer-readable medium806, or any of its instructions 840, 841, 842, 843. The memory 814 mayinclude communication attributes information 830. As mentioned above,such communication attributes may include various parameters,measurements, signals, and/or information pertaining to thecommunication behavior of the STA without deviating from the scope ofthe present disclosure. In some examples, such communication attributesinformation includes information associated with the packet size,inter-arrival time, and/or inter-arrival time of communications of theSTA. The memory 814 may also include station identity information 831.The identity information provided by the STA to the AP 802 may be storedin the memory 814 as station identity information 831 and subsequentlyutilized in various processes and/or methods described in greater detailherein. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the memory814 may also include various other memory modules, each pertaining toone or more of the aspects described in greater detail herein, withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

One of ordinary skill in the art will also understand that the AP 802may include alternative and/or additional features without deviatingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. In accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure, an element, or any portion of anelement, or any combination of elements may be implemented with aprocessing system that includes one or more processors 804. Examples ofthe one or more processors 804 include microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines,gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardwareconfigured to perform the various functionality described throughoutthis disclosure. The processing system may be implemented with a busarchitecture, represented generally by the bus 816 and bus interface808. The bus 816 may include any number of interconnecting buses andbridges depending on the specific application of the processing systemand the overall design constraints. The bus 816 may link togethervarious circuits including the one or more processors 804, the memory814, and the computer-readable medium 806. The bus 816 may also linkvarious other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltageregulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in theart.

The one or more processors 804 may be responsible for managing the bus816 and general processing, including the execution of software storedon the computer-readable medium 806. The software, when executed by theone or more processors 804, causes the processing system to perform thevarious functions described below for any one or more apparatuses. Thecomputer-readable medium 806 may also be used for storing data that ismanipulated by the one or more processors 804 when executing software.Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instructionsets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, softwaremodules, applications, software applications, software packages,routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution,procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Thesoftware may reside on the computer-readable medium 806. Thecomputer-readable medium 806 may be a non-transitory computer-readablemedium. A non-transitory computer-readable medium includes, by way ofexample, a magnetic storage device (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk,magnetic strip), an optical disk (e.g., a compact disc (CD) or a digitalversatile disc (DVD)), a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., acard, a stick, or a key drive), a random access memory (RAM), a readonly memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM),an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, a removable disk,and any other suitable medium for storing software and/or instructionsthat may be accessed and read by a computer. The computer-readablemedium 806 may also include, by way of example, a carrier wave, atransmission line, and any other suitable medium for transmittingsoftware and/or instructions that may be accessed and read by acomputer. The computer-readable medium 806 may reside in the processingsystem, external to the processing system, or distributed acrossmultiple entities including the processing system. The computer-readablemedium 806 may be embodied in a computer program product. By way ofexample and not limitation, a computer program product may include acomputer-readable medium in packaging materials. Those skilled in theart will recognize how best to implement the described functionalitypresented throughout this disclosure depending on the particularapplication and the overall design constraints imposed on the overallsystem.

FIG. 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating an example of various methodsand/or processes according to aspects of the present disclosure. Suchmethod and/or processes may be performed by an AP (e.g., AP 102, 602,702, 802). Such methods and/or processes may additionally oralternatively be performed by various other types of apparatuses withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Various examples ofsensor-type STAs and non-sensor-type STAs are described above, e.g.,with reference to FIG. 1, and therefore will not be repeated. At block902, the AP may receive identity information from a STA, wherein theidentity information identifies that the STA is a sensor-type STA.Additional description pertaining to sensor-type STAs andnon-sensor-type STAs is provided above and therefore will not berepeated.

At block 904, the AP may determine whether one or more communicationattributes of the STA correlates with one or more communicationattributes expected for a sensor-type STA. At block 906, the AP maydetermine that the identify information received from the STA is falsewhen the one or more communication attributes of the STA is uncorrelatedwith the one or more communication attributes expected for a sensor-typeSTA. In some examples, the identity information received from the STA isfalse when the one or more communication attributes of the STA isinsufficiently correlated with the one or more communication attributesexpected for the sensor-type STA. The one or more communicationattributes of the STA may be insufficiently correlated with the one ormore communication attributes expected for the sensor-type STA when theone or more communication attributes of the STA deviate by more than apredetermined amount from the one or more communication attributesexpected for the sensor-type STA.

In some configurations, at block 908, the AP may initiate one or moreremedial actions upon determining that the identity information receivedfrom the STA is false. In some examples, such remedial actions mayinclude blocking one or more future communications with the STA. In someexamples, such remedial actions may include communicating a warningmessage to the STA, wherein the warning message indicates that theidentity information received from the STA is false. In some examples,such remedial actions may include assigning the STA to an access windowthat is not restricted to sensor-type STAs. Additional descriptionpertaining to such remedial actions is provided above and therefore willnot be repeated.

In some configurations, at block 910, the AP may assign a plurality ofsensor-type STAs to a RAW based on one or more communication attributesof the plurality of sensor-type STAs. For example, a plurality ofsensor-type STAs may exhibit a common communication attribute (e.g., acommon packet size, a common inter-arrival time, a common inter-arrivaltime variance, etc.). The AP may group these sensor-type STAs to aparticular RAW. In this RAW, that plurality of STAs may contend for thecommunication channel. Outside of that RAW, other STAs may have anopportunity to contend for the communication channel. For example,referring to FIG. 4, S-STA₁ through S-STA_(n) may be grouped togetherbased on such communication attributes and, together, assigned to RAW₁.

The methods and/or processes described with reference to FIG. 9 areprovided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure. The methods and/or processes describedwith reference to FIG. 9 may be performed in sequences different fromthose illustrated therein without deviating from the scope of thepresent disclosure. Additionally, some or all of the methods and/orprocesses described with reference to FIG. 9 may be performedindividually and/or together without deviating from the scope of thepresent disclosure. It is to be understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed is an illustration ofexemplary processes. Based upon design preferences, it is understoodthat the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods may berearranged. The accompanying method claims present elements of thevarious steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to thespecific order or hierarchy presented unless specifically recitedtherein.

Additional description pertaining to the present disclosure is providedin the Appendix filed concurrently herewith. The description herein isprovided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the variousaspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principlesdefined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are notintended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to beaccorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims,wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean“one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one ormore.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers toone or more. A phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of itemsrefers to any combination of those items, including single members. Asan example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c;a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c. All structural and functionalequivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughoutthis disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those ofordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by referenceand are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothingdisclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless ofwhether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claimelement is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f),unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or,in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase“step for.”

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus configured for wirelesscommunication, the apparatus comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and atleast one processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and thememory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: utilize thetransceiver to receive identity information from a station (STA),wherein the identity information identifies the STA as a sensor-typeSTA; determine whether one or more communication attributes of the STAcorrelates with one or more communication attributes expected for asensor-type STA; and determine that the identity information receivedfrom the STA is false when the one or more communication attributes ofthe STA is uncorrelated with the one or more communication attributesexpected for a sensor-type STA.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, whereindetermining whether one or more communication attributes of the STAcorrelates with one or more communication attributes expected for asensor-type STA comprises: determining whether a size of a packetreceived from the STA correlates with a size of a packet expected forthe sensor-type STA.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein determiningwhether one or more communication attributes of the STA correlates withone or more communication attributes expected for a sensor-type STAcomprises: determining whether an inter-arrival time of packets receivedfrom the STA correlates with an inter-arrival time of packets expectedfor the sensor-type STA.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, whereindetermining whether one or more communication attributes of the STAcorrelates with one or more communication attributes expected for asensor-type STA comprises: determining whether an inter-arrival timevariance of packets received from the STA correlates with aninter-arrival time variance of packets expected for the sensor-type STA.5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to: initiate one or more remedial actions upondetermining that the identity information received from the STA isfalse.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the one or more remedialactions comprise blocking one or more future communications with theSTA.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the one or more remedialactions comprise communicating a warning message to the STA, wherein thewarning message indicates that the identity information received fromthe STA is false.
 8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the one or moreremedial actions comprise assigning the STA to an access window that isnot restricted to sensor-type STAs.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe at least one processor is further configured to: assign a pluralityof sensor-type STAs to a random access window (RAW) based on one or morecommunication attributes of the plurality of sensor-type STAs.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the STA utilizes a sub-1 Gigahertz (GHz)frequency and complies with a communication protocol of Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11ah.
 11. A method ofwireless communication, the method comprising: utilizing a transceiverto receive identity information from a station (STA), wherein theidentity information identifies the STA as a sensor-type STA;determining whether one or more communication attributes of the STAcorrelates with one or more communication attributes expected for asensor-type STA; and determining that the identity information receivedfrom the STA is false when the one or more communication attributes ofthe STA is uncorrelated with the one or more communication attributesexpected for a sensor-type STA.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereindetermining whether one or more communication attributes of the STAcorrelates with one or more communication attributes expected for asensor-type STA comprises: determining whether a size of a packetreceived from the STA correlates with a size of a packet expected forthe sensor-type STA.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein determiningwhether one or more communication attributes of the STA correlates withone or more communication attributes expected for a sensor-type STAcomprises: determining whether an inter-arrival time of packets receivedfrom the STA correlates with an inter-arrival time of packets expectedfor the sensor-type STA.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein determiningwhether one or more communication attributes of the STA correlates withone or more communication attributes expected for a sensor-type STAcomprises: determining whether an inter-arrival time variance of packetsreceived from the STA correlates with an inter-arrival time variance ofpackets expected for the sensor-type STA.
 15. The method of claim 11,further comprising: initiating one or more remedial actions upondetermining that the identity information received from the STA isfalse.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more remedialactions comprise blocking one or more future communications with theSTA.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more remedialactions comprise communicating a warning message to the STA, wherein thewarning message indicates that the identity information received fromthe STA is false.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or moreremedial actions comprise assigning the STA to an access window that isnot restricted to sensor-type STAs.
 19. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: assigning a plurality of sensor-type STAs to a random accesswindow (RAW) based on one or more communication attributes of theplurality of sensor-type STAs.
 20. The method of claim 11, wherein theSTA utilizes a sub-1 Gigahertz (GHz) frequency and complies with acommunication protocol of Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 802.11ah.
 21. A computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable code comprising instructions configured to: receiveidentity information from a station (STA), wherein the identityinformation identifies the STA as a sensor-type STA; determine whetherone or more communication attributes of the STA correlates with one ormore communication attributes expected for a sensor-type STA; anddetermine that the identity information received from the STA is falsewhen the one or more communication attributes of the STA is uncorrelatedwith the one or more communication attributes expected for a sensor-typeSTA.
 22. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein determiningwhether one or more communication attributes of the STA correlates withone or more communication attributes expected for a sensor-type STAcomprises: determining whether a size of a packet received from the STAcorrelates with a size of a packet expected for the sensor-type STA. 23.The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein determining whetherone or more communication attributes of the STA correlates with one ormore communication attributes expected for a sensor-type STA comprises:determining whether an inter-arrival time of packets received from theSTA correlates with an inter-arrival time of packets expected for thesensor-type STA.
 24. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, whereindetermining whether one or more communication attributes of the STAcorrelates with one or more communication attributes expected for asensor-type STA comprises: determining whether an inter-arrival timevariance of packets received from the STA correlates with aninter-arrival time variance of packets expected for the sensor-type STA.25. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructionsare further configured to: initiate one or more remedial actions upondetermining that the identity information received from the STA isfalse.
 26. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the one ormore remedial actions comprise: blocking one or more futurecommunications with the STA; communicating a warning message to the STA,wherein the warning message indicates that the identity informationreceived from the STA is false; and assigning the STA to an accesswindow that is not restricted to sensor-type STAs.
 27. An apparatusconfigured for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: meansfor receiving identity information from a station (STA), wherein theidentity information identifies the STA as a sensor-type STA; means fordetermining whether one or more communication attributes of the STAcorrelates with one or more communication attributes expected for asensor-type STA; and means for determining that the identity informationreceived from the STA is false when the one or more communicationattributes of the STA is uncorrelated with the one or more communicationattributes expected for a sensor-type STA.
 28. The apparatus of claim27, wherein the means for determining whether one or more communicationattributes of the STA correlates with one or more communicationattributes expected for a sensor-type STA is configured to: determinewhether a size of a packet received from the STA correlates with a sizeof a packet expected for the sensor-type STA; determine whether aninter-arrival time of packets received from the STA correlates with aninter-arrival time of packets expected for the sensor-type STA; anddetermine whether an inter-arrival time variance of packets receivedfrom the STA correlates with an inter-arrival time variance of packetsexpected for the sensor-type STA.
 29. The apparatus of claim 27, furthercomprising: means for initiating one or more remedial actions upondetermining that the identity information received from the STA isfalse.
 30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the means for initiatingone or more remedial actions in configured to: block one or more futurecommunications with the STA; communicate a warning message to the STA,wherein the warning message indicates that the identity informationreceived from the STA is false; and assign the STA to an access windowthat is not restricted to sensor-type STAs.